Roller skate



Aug. 29, 1933.

E. O. LIEBERENZ ROLLER SKATE Filed May 12,1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 29,1933. E. ol LIEBERENZ ROLLER SKATE 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Filed May l2Patented ug. 29, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a roller skatehaving driving means connected with the wheels, which is actuated by theweight of the skater each time the skate is placed on the ground aftermoving the foot forward.

A further object of the invention is to provide a roller skate of adesign wherein the same is divided into a foot attached portion and awheel carrying portion with connecting levers therebetween, and inwhich-the foot attached portion moves substantially vertically relativeto the wheeled portion, for the operation of a gear driving mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description of the same proceeds and the invention will be bestunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, with the understanding, however, that the invention isnot conned to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings butmay be changed or modied so long -as such changes or modications mark nomaterial departure from the salient features of the invention asexpressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figure l is a view in side elevation of a skateconstructed in accordance with the present invention, the near wheelsthereof being removed and a portion being broken away to show a detailof construction;

Figure 2 is a View in top plan of the skate with the rear half of theplatform and the heel supporting plate cut away;

Figure 3 is a sectional View taken substantially upon the line 3-3 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure l.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals ofreference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, itwill be seen that the skate is composed of the two principal units 1 and2 constituting respectively the foot attached portion and the wheelcarrying portion.

The wheel carrying portion 2 of the skate comprises the pair of spacedparallel side beams or plates 3 which are provided at their front andrear ends respectively with the upstanding ears 4 and 5.

At the forward and rear ends of the beams 3 there extends transverselythereof and therethrough the front and rear axles 6 and '7, these axlesturning freely in the openings or apertures of the beams through whichthey pass. At thel front end of the skate the ends of the axle 6outwardly of the frame bars or plates 3 pass through sleeves 8 and 9 andbeyond these sleeves the axles have secured thereto the front wheels 10.

Each of the sleeves 8 and 9 has integral therewith an elongated plate llwhich positions against the outer face of the adjacent frame 3 and theseplates carry the laterally extending pins 12 which upon their outer endsare threaded to receive a nut 13.

Adjacent each of the plates 1l the side frames carry an outwardlyextending ear 14 which is apertured to receive the shank portion 15 of ascrew eye 16, the eye of which has the pin 12 extended therethrough. Oneither side of the ear 14 is a nut 17 and by the adjustment of thesenuts 17 upon the shank 15 cf the screw eye the sleeves 8 and 9 areshifted longitudinally of the frame to shift the axle or shaft 6, theapertures in the frame side members 3 through which the axle 6 passes,being in the form of an elongatedy slot for this purpose.

The sleeve 9 is of slightly less length than the sleeve 8 and there ismounted on the axle 6 and secured thereto between this sleeve and theadjacent Wheel 10, the small sprocket gear 18 which receives drivingpower for the turning of the axle 6 and wheels 10, in the mannerhereinafter more fully described.

Intermediate the ends of the beams 3 there is connectedtherebetween arotatable power shaft 19. Thisshaft 19 has mounted for free rotationthereon the spur gear 20, with which is integrally formed a sleeve 21which connects with a disk 22. The disk 22 carries adjacent itsperiphery and projecting from one face, a pin 23 and mounted upon thispin is a spring pressed pawl 24, The pawl and pin are upon the side ofthe' disk 22 opposite from the spur gear 20. Mounted upon and secured tothe shaft 19 upon the side of the disk 22 upon which the pawl 24 islocated, is a ratchet wheel 25, with thev teeth of which the pawl 24 ismaintained in constant engagement byv the control spring therefor whichis indicated by the numeralY 26.

Upon the end of the shaft 19 which is directly to the rear of thesprocket gear 18, is a large driving sprocket gear 27 and these'sprocketgears 18 and 27 are connected together by the sprocket chain 28.

The rear ends of the side members 3 of the wheel carrying frame havemounted upon the axle 7 the supporting wheels 29 and these wheels andthe wheels 1G at the front of the skate may be rubber-tired shown, ifdesired. The shaft 7 also has thereon between the wheels 29 and the sidemembers 3 of the frame, the spacing sleeves 30 which maintain the wheelsand frame beams properly spaced apart.

The forward ears 4 of the frame beams 3 are connected by a shaft 31while the ears 5 are connected by a shaft 32. The shaft 31 passesthrough the apertured ends of a pair of arms each of which is indicated.by the numeral 33, for which it forms a pivot and the opposite ends 'ofthese arms are formed to provide an elongated head 34 in which is alongitudinal slot 35.

Crossing the arms 33 are similar arms 36 which at their lower ends areformed to provide the heads 37 which have the longitudinal slots 38therein through which the shaft 32 passes. The arms 33 of one pair andthose arms 36 of the other pair are spaced apart, one of each pair beingupon one side of the skate and where they cross midway between theirends they are connected by the center shaft 39. The two pairs of arms inassociation thus form two side by side lazy tongs. The shaft 39 carriessuitably spaced collars 40 disposed on opposite sides of the crossedpairs of arms through which it passes, to maintain these arms in theproper relation one of these collars as shown in Figure 2 is set in awayfrom the adjacent crossed arms 33-36 and between it and the adjacent*arms is interposed a sleeve 41 which is formed integral with andtransversely of one end of a gear segment 42,.the teeth of which are inmesh with the teeth of the spurgear 20. Integral with this gear segment42 is an arm 43 which extends forwardly and terminates in a sleeve 44through which the forward shaft 31 passes and about which shaft the gearsegment oscillates, the longitudinal center of the shaft 31 being theradial center ofthe gear segment.

The foot supporting portion l comprises a platform in the form of anelongated plate 45 which extends longitudinally over the beams 3 of thewheel frame and at each end of this plate or platform are formed thedepending side ears 46, adjacent ones of which are connected by thetransverse shafts 47.

The shaft 47 which is located at the rear end of the platform 45 passesthrough the elongated slots 35 formed in the upper ends of the arms 33and the other shaft 47 passes through suitable apertures in the upperends of the arms 36.

To the top surface of the platform 45 there are secured the forward andrearv bracket members 48 and 49 respectively which have the upturned endportions 50 and 5l, and overlying these brackets 48 and 49 are the toeand heel plates 52 and 53 respectively upon which the foot of the skateris placed. The plates 52 and 53 respectively carry upon their underfaces the spaced downwardly extending ears 54 and 55 which positionbetween the upstanding ends of the underlyingbrackets and receivethrough suitable apertures therein the pivot pins 56 and 57 which arerespectively carried by the front and rear brackets 48 and 49. Each ofthese brackets 48 and 49 has mounted between its upstanding ends arubber block 58 through which the adjacent pivot pin passes and theupper side of each rubber block.

Locas@ bears against the under side of the overlying toe or heel plateas the case may be and limits the rocking movement of the plate on thepivot pin.

The bracket 48 is riveted securely in position as indicated at 59 to theplatform 45, while the bracket 49 has secured thereto the downwardlyextending screw 60 which passes through a slot 61 formed longitudinallyin the platform 45 and receives upon the underside of the platform theholding nut 62. By the provision of this scrcew or bolt, the head ofwhich is embedded in the rubber block thereover, the longitudinaladjustment of the heel plate on the platform may be effected.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that in the useof the present skate the foot of the skater is placed over the platformwith the heel on the plate 53 and the ball of the foot or the toeportion of the shoe on the plate 52 and secured by straps in the usualmanner, the securing straps not being shown as these and the solegripping clamps of the device are conventional.

The skater upon lifting his foot allows the wheel frame structure 2 todrop away from the platform, thus separating the ends of the-toggle armsand drawing the gear segment up tothe limit of its movement as shown inFigure 1, this movement being limited by the shafts 32 and 47 reachingthe ends of the slots 35 and 38 of the toggle arms through which theyposition. Upon then placing the skate back upon the ground and throwinghis weight thereonto the gear segment 42 will be rapidly forceddownwardly as the center shaft 39 to which it is attached is depressedin the movement of the platform 45 toward the frame beams 3, androtation will be imparted to the drive wheels 10 through the spur gear20, disk 22, pawl and ratchet 24-25 and the sprocket wheel and chainassembly which couples the shaft 19 with the front axle 6.

While the drawings illustratea sprocket and chain connection betweenvthe driving shaft 19 and the front axle only, it will, of course, bereadily understood that a. duplicate of this sprocket chain and gearassembly may be placedv upon the opposite side of the skate to connectthe rear axle 7 with the driving shaft 19, if desired, so that power maybe transmitted to the front and rear wheels simultaneously. Y

The tensioning of the sprocket chain 28 is controlled by themanipulation of the nuts 17 to shift the front axle 6 forwardly orrearwardly as necessary, as previously explained.

Having thus described the invention, what isclaimed isz- 1. A rollerskate of the character described, comprising a wheel supported frameincluding a pair of axles, wheels carried by said axles, a footsupporting body overlying said wheel supported frame, a lazy tongstructure forming a connection between the frame and the overlying bodypermitting relative vertical movement between the frame and body, saidlazy tong structure having a center pivot, a driving mechanism connectedwith one of said axles and carried by the frame, and means coupling saiddriving mechanism with the center pivot of the lazy tong connection foroperating said driving means.

2. A roller skate of the character described, comprising a wheeledstructure including a pair of axles, a power shaft carried by thewheeled structure, a driving connection between the power shaft and oneof said axles, a foot supporting structure overlying the wheeledstructure, connecting arms between the foot supporting structure and thewheeled structure permitting relative vertical movement therebetween, anelement joined to said connecting arms and vertically reciprocatedtherewith during the relative movement between the structures connectedthereby, and means for transmitting power from said verticallyreciprocated element to said power shaft.

3. A skate of the character described comprising a wheel supported frameincluding a pair of axles, a power shaft rotatably supported by saidframe, a driving connection between said power shaft and one of saidaxles, a gear element rotatably mounted on the power shaft, a footsupporting structure overlying the frame, connecting arms between theframe and the foot supporting structure permitting relative verticalmovement therebetween, means establishing a driving connection betweenthe gear and power shaft when the gear is rotated in one direction, anda toothed element carried by said arms for vertical reciprocation andconnected with the said gear for trans- 'mitting motion to the drivingconnection.

4. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongatedspaced parallel bodies, a pair of axles connecting said bodies, wheelscarried by said axles, a power shaft mounted between said bodies, adriving connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, afoot supporting platform overlying said bodies, crossed centrallypivotally connected arms joining said platform and said bodies andpivotally connected at their ends thereto whereby relative verticalmovement between the platform and bodies is permitted, a gear carried onsaid power shaft, means for establishing a driving connection betweenthe gear and power shaft when the gear is turned in one direction, and atoothed element connected with said arms to be vertically reciprocatedthereby during the relative movement between the platform and the bodiesand having driving connection with said gear for transmitting motiontherethrough to the driving shaft.

5. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongatedspaced parallel bodies, a pair of axles connecting said bodies, wheelscarried by said axles, a power shaft mounted between said bodies, adriving connection between said power shaft and one of said axles, afoot supporting platform overlying said bodies, crossed centrallypivotally connected arms joining said platform and said bodies andpivotally connected at their ends thereto whereby relative verticalmovement between the platform and bodies is permitted, a gear carried onsaid power shaft, a toothed element connected with said arms to bevertically reciprocated thereby during the relative movement between theplatform and the bodies and having driving connection with said gear fortransmitting motion 'therethrough to the driving shaft, and meanspermitting the free rotation of said driving shaft and driving mechanismduring the reverse nondriving movement of said toothed element, andestablishing a driving connection between the toothed element and thedriving mechanism during the driving movement of the element.

6. A roller skate of the character described comprising a pair of sideby side spaced elongated members, axles connecting said members, a powershaft mounted between said members, a gear member mounted upon saidpower shaft for free rotation thereabout, pawl and ratchet connectingmeans between said gear member and the shaft, a driving sprocket chainconnection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a footsupporting platform overlying said axle, means connecting the platformwith said elongated members permitting relative vertical movementbetween the members and the platform, a toothed element carried by saidlast means and vertically reciprocated with the platform and furtherhaving connection with said gear, and wheels carried by said axles.

7. A roller skate of the character described comprising a pair of sideby side spaced elongated members, axles connecting said members, a powershaft mounted between said members, a gear member mounted upon saidpower shaft for free rotation thereabout, pawl and ratchet connectingmeans between said gear member and the shaft, a driving sprocket chainconnection between said power shaft and one of said axles, a footsupporting platform overlying said axle,

vmeans connecting the platform with said elongated members permittingrelative vertical movement between the members and the platform, atoothed element carried by said last means and vertically reciprocatedwith the platform and further having connection with said gear, wheelssecured to said axles, and means for shifting the axle with which thedriving gear chain is connected, longitudinally of the said members foradjusting the tension of the driving chain.

8. A skate of the character described comprising a pair of elongatedspaced parallel members, axles connecting the ends of said members,wheels mounted on and secured to said axles, a power shaft carried bysaid members, a spur gear mounted upon said power shaft for freerotation thereabout, a ratchet gear carried by and secured to said powershaft, pawl connecting means between the spur gear and the ratchet gear,a sprocket chain driving connection between the driving shaft and one ofsaid axles, a pair of lazy tong elements each comprising two crossedarms, a shaft extending transversely of the skate and having each endpivotally connecting a pair of the arms at their crossing points, thelower ends of the arms of each pair being pivotally connected with saidelongated members, a foot supporting platform pivotally connected withand supported by the upper ends of the said pairs of arms, a gearsegment carried by and suspended from said last shaft and having toothedconnection with said spur gear, and means for maintaining the gearsegment constantly in engagement with the spur gear during itsreciprocation with the shaft to which it is attached.

EDWARD O. LIEBERENZ.

